Stare
by Msario
Summary: Both Naegi and Ikusaba are extremely distracted during class, thanks to each other.


_Oh wow, a new one. Thanks for clicking._

 _Let me say that I try to name people the way the Japanese do, which is Lastname Firstname, and address them by their last names. Only people who you're familiar with would call you by your first name._

 _Also, while their use is limited in this, here's a run-down on some honorifics:_

 _-san is one you'd put after anybody, for respect._

 _-kun is one you'd put after men below you, in age or rank, and can convey affection._

 _-chan is similar to kun, but mostly for females, and implies endearment or affection._

 _Onii and Nii, Onee and Nee mean brother and sister, respectively. They can be a suffix, or be used by themselves with a suffix attached to them._

 _Sorry you had to read something before, uh, reading something. Here it is._

* * *

Naegi Makoto sat stiff in his chair, his palms sweaty.

The teacher scribbled something on the chalkboard at the front of the room, and people in the desks around him copied the lines into their notebooks.

Naegi's hand remained still, with a death grip on his pencil.

He was sure that Japanese history was very interesting.

If it wasn't, it would still be on a test, which would be something he'd have to worry about.

But there was another, much more distracting problem at hand.

ー

Ikusaba Mukuro also had little attention for the teacher's lecture.

The soldier's mind had wandered to other things. Namely, a certain boy.

She's found him slowly creeping into every crevice of her life, even having the nerve to show up in her dreams.

The emotionless girl was infinitely curious why he'd gained such a presence in her mind, for seemingly no reason.

The image she held of him was one she was not familiar with in the slightest. Then again, with how little she interacts with others, nearly all territory is unfamiliar in terms of social interaction.

Ikusaba had let her guard down, and did not understand how her relationship with the boy had come about.

She would not make the same mistake again, and resolved to closely observing the boy.

ー

The hair on the back of Naegi's neck stood on end, and his spine tingled. A shiver ran through his body.

Behind him, he could feel a gaze, piercing through skin and bones and peering into the depths of his soul.

He felt the gaze the moment he stepped into the classroom, and it had been mentally wearing him down ever since.

A pair of eyes were undoubtedly trained on the lucky, or perhaps unlucky, high schooler. And it seems like they didn't know about the existence of happiness or pleasantness.

ー

The feelings Ikusaba held were a mystery. She had no clue where they had come from.

She understood that he was a nice guy. That was clear, seeing the way he interacted with those around him.

But there was nothing else that particularly stood out about him. If anything, he was outstandingly plain.

Ikusaba considered his optimism. After all, she had spent so much time with her sister, who was markedly depressing, once you see through her facade.

Perhaps her interest in the boy was merely because of his contrast to her sister.

Surely, that was all it was. And yet, Ikusaba continued to think about him.

ー

The malicious aura would not let up, and Naegi found himself shrinking into his seat, as though it might shield him from the unpleasantness he felt.

Back at the front of the room, the teacher asked if everybody could pull out their textbooks.

The students on all sides of Naegi obliged, and reached into their desks or book bags, oblivious to his predicament.

Slowly, painfully slowly, Naegi reached into his desk, and pulled out his textbook. He didn't hear what page they would be looking at, so he took a guess and spread the book on his desk.

He tried to read the words, but could not find meaning in the sentences and paragraphs, the pressing stare too distracting to focus on anything.

ー

Pulling herself from her thoughts, Ikusaba observed that the boy, as well as everybody else, had textbooks out. She promptly produced hers from her desk, and turned to the page on the board.

Ikusaba tried to bring her focus back to the lesson, realizing that she had been so distracted she hadn't digested any information from the class, but her mind was still fixed on him.

She looked at his messy, brown hair, and the small clump that inexplicably always stood straight up, seemingly defying gravity. It mystified her to the day.

She found it slightly endearing.

That is, she would have found it endearing, if she hadn't blown that train of thought into smithereens the moment it left the station.

She tried to shut off any other feelings she might have had, but continued to gaze at him.

ー

It felt as though someone was looking down the iron sights of a gun, straight at Naegi, ready to shoot.

No, it wasn't just a gun, it was a grenade launcher, and the wielder had full intent to blow Naegi into smithereens. They put the launcher right up to his head, at point-blank range.

He could feel the cold barrel pressed against the back of his head, just the twitch of a finger away from marking the end of his time on earth.

As Naegi sat there, beginning to shake under the overwhelming pressure of that stare, he wondered if he was going to die today.

ー

On the hood of his hoodie, there was a gas mask, and Ikusaba could see it clearly from where she sat.

Apparently it was merchandise from some video game… '999', or something like that.

Of course, while she had noticed it, Ikusaba never asked what it was from. She had overheard him talking with a few others, who were curious about it.

Ikusaba never had any interest in video games, so she wasn't sure if this '999' was popular or interesting or entertaining.

She began to wonder if he liked video games.

Once again, she stopped herself short, scolding herself. What would it matter if he liked video games? That kind of info wouldn't be useful to her in the slightest. Was she going to play games with him or something?

Playing games… Together…

Strangely, Ikusaba wanted to know more about the boy. She wondered what he was thinking about right now.

ー

They wouldn't even need a weapon to kill Naegi. The staring was enough.

If it went on much longer, he wouldn't be mentally capable of bearing the intense glare.

He didn't want to die. Not yet. There's so much more he wanted to do. So many things left to experience.

What about graduation? What about making precious high school memories?

Forget having kids and a family, Naegi hadn't even had a single girlfriend. He was going to die without experiencing love.

As if to correct him, his mind thought of a certain girl, which immediately flustered the young man.

His face turned red, and he shook his head, wondering why she had appeared in his mind. He thought back to the dream he had last night, and became even redder.

Now Naegi's mind was not only taxed by the staring, but also his own stupid thoughts.

His breaths were shallow, and his stomach convulsed. He began to see his life flash before his eyes.

Right when he was at his wit's end, the bell chimed. The teacher wrapped up, and his peers began to pack up and leave the room, talking amongst themselves.

Naegi would have breathed a sigh of relief, for he would have finally been able to escape from whoever was staring him down.

That fleeting dream was destroyed, however, for the unpleasant atmosphere that had been directed at him began to move closer. He could feel it approaching him, and every muscle in his body and every neuron in his brain told him to run, to get as far as physically possible from whatever was heading his way.

But he was incapable of moving, and instead sat still, tensed.

Even though he was extremely frightened, he could not help but turn to the lethal presence. His curiousity had gotten the better of him, and he looked to see who had been subjecting him to such suffering.

At his desk was the mercenary, Ikusaba Mukuro. Her face didn't have a single trace of emotion on it as she stared him down.

It made perfect sense in Naegi's mind. Of course it was her.

The one who had gone through several hells and walked out unscathed. The one who had held numerous weapons in her hands, all with deadly precision. The one who could probably kill twenty people in five seconds, with her pinky finger.

And here she was, glaring down at him.

Naegi could feel her taking in every turn of his eyes, every twitch of his muscles, observing every move he made. Her overwhelming concentration on him made him more than slightly uncomfortable.

Completely defenseless, Naegi just looked up at her, wondering what she was going to do.

"…"

"…"

What was Ikusaba going to do here? Even she did not know.

Before she had time to think, she had found herself at Naegi's desk, her body simply gravitating towards him.

She reprimanded herself again. What exactly was she thinking? Her recent performance has been more than sub par. Ikusaba was embarrassed she had thoughtlessly wandered here, with nothing to say for herself.

But there was no escaping what's already occurred. For now, she would wait and see what would happen.

"…"

"…"

Ikusaba didn't say a word, and neither did Naegi.

If this was a staring contest, the boy was definitely losing, and could hardly bring himself to continue looking at such a menacing presence.

The soldier wondered if she should say something, but could not think of anything to talk about, and ultimately gave up on the idea.

"…"

"…"

They both stayed still, none of them making a move. The silence was dragging painfully on.

It crossed Naegi's mind that, at the very least, Ikusaba wasn't hard on the eyes.

Of course, he began to blush, but thought about it for a bit.

He reasoned it could have been worse. If he was staring down a horrendously ugly girl, he probably wouldn't have lasted half as long.

Ikusaba always wore plain clothes, but Naegi couldn't deny how cute she would be if she wore something more girly.

But perhaps Naegi would never see that cuteness, and instead be faced with a bullet to the head.

"…"

"…"

Nothing had been done and said for a long two minutes, with both of them awkwardly waiting for something to happen.

As the stalemate continued, Naegi became increasingly less threatened, and increasingly more uncomfortable and flustered.

Just wanting it all to end, he gathered up his courage and spoke out.

"…U-uhm," he began.

"…"

Ikusaba continued silently staring at him.

"…D-do you need something..?"

Naegi put a question in the air.

"…"

"…"

Where it stayed, unanswered.

"…"

"…"

Ikusaba didn't utter a word.

She didn't really know whether or not she needed something.

Even if she did need something, she didn't know how to explain what she needed.

Maybe she should just walk away. It's not like she truly needed Naegi's help with anything urgent or important.

But at this point, that would be extremely rude. Ikusaba might have been able to do it before, but now it was too late.

Also, maybe Naegi could help her, in some way. She just wasn't sure what she wanted his help for.

With that unsureness, she remained silent.

Naegi just sat there, waiting. He, too, was unsure of what to do.

"…"

"…"

"Ah, found you!"

Suddenly, a voice came from the door, breaking the silence.

The two turned to see Enoshima Junko, Ikusaba's younger twin sister, cheerily smiling at them.

"Jeez, I looked all over for you, Mukuro-nee. You're still in the classroom? So slow!" Enoshima bantered, walking over to them, completely breaking the previous atmosphere.

"Junko…" Ikusaba's voice was void of emotion. "I'm sorry to have kept you."

Enoshima shrugged. "Meh, I don't really care. Anyways, what's this? Makoto-kun, you hitting on my sister?"

"E-eh?!" Naegi turned red at the prospect.

"Well, I mean, you were totally just checking her out, weren't you? Don't do anything weird, hear me?"

"N-no, that's not, this is, well…" Naegi frantically waved his hands. He would have explained the situation, if he knew what exactly the situation was.

"Ah… No… I see…I was in the wrong…" Enoshima's mood swung, and she now seemed extremely depressed.

Naegi became confused, and tried to comfort her. "No, um, I didn't mean it like that, you're not wrong… Well, you're wrong, but, uh…"

Enoshima sighed. "No, it's fine, Naegi-san…I know I'm wrong… I've always been wrong…"

"Junko," Ikusaba said, seeing that Naegi wasn't quite keeping up, "Shall we go?"

"Huh? What, you think you can order me around?" In an instant, Enoshima gained an aura of superiority. "Don't get cocky just because you were born a few minutes before me, Mukuro."

Ikusaba's face never changed. "Of course, Junko."

"And you!" Enoshima turned to Naegi, who flinched in surprise. "Don't think trash like you could ever touch something with my genes in it. You're a million years too early for it."

"O-of course!" Naegi naturally submitted, putting his head as low as it could go in his seat. "I'm extremely sorry!"

Enoshima laughed, and poked Naegi on his cheek, causing him to raise his head.

"I was just kidding, Onii-chan! You're always so serious!"

The sporadic girl's smiling face was extremely close to Naegi's, and he quickly pulled away from it.

Naegi had known Enoshima for a while now, and thought he could hold a decent conversation with her, despite her sudden mood changes. It seems he still had a long way to go, however, before he could keep up with her.

"Don't worry, Onii-chan, I believe you. I don't think you'd have the courage to do anything to Onee-chan."

"Thanks?" Naegi wasn't quite sure if he should be insulted or not.

"But, I guess that means…" Enoshima looked towards her sister. "Kyaa, Onee-chan, you're so cute!" She suddenly jumped up and lovingly tackled Ikusaba, who impressively managed to stay on her feet.

By now, Enoshima had realized the discrepancies in Ikusaba's emotions, and Ikusaba knew that her sister had read her like a book.

Enoshima readjusted herself on Ikusaba, making her sister piggyback her. She made her voice lower and gruff, saying, "We'll retreat for now, Fenrir-san! Let's go back to our headquarters!"

Silently, Ikusaba got a better hold of her sister, and marched out of the room. Enoshima made tank noises on the way out, issuing fake commands to Ikusaba. They left behind Naegi, who was the only person left in the classroom.

At long last, he was able to relax. He sighed and buried his face in the desk. He was more than exhausted.

After writing down a whole chalkboard's worth of notes, he packed up, and headed towards his dorm room.

With the sudden appearance of Enoshima, and the schoolwork he needed to do, Naegi hadn't really thought about why Ikusaba came to see him.

Walking to his room, he began to wonder what Ikusaba might have wanted.

For a second, he thought that she wanted to ask him out or something. He knew there was no chance that was possible, though, and quickly moved on.

In the end, a reasonable answer eluded him, and he gave up.

The previous class had made him far more tired then he should have been, and soon as he entered his room, he flopped onto his bed and took a much needed rest.

* * *

 _Wow, you made it down here? I appreciate it._

 _I have no clue why, but for some reason this one stretched into one of my longer works. I'm not sure if it dragged on. Naegi stayed in the exact same spot for most of it._

 _I'd like to thank GoldenPiggy for giving me the idea for this one. While I played around with it a bit, I'm still afraid they'll sue me._

 _Did you think it was my magnum opus? Give it a review. I love it when you tell me you love it. Even if it's all a lie._

 _Did you think it was the biggest pile of trash I've made yet? Give it a review. Otherwise I'll never throw it out. Also, it's all GoldenPiggy's fault. Blame them._

 _Until next time._


End file.
